Saints Add Former Rams Running Back Following Minicamp Tryout

The media attention on the recent NFL Draft has been over for about a month and a half, and the picks are being discussed on TV and in online chats. The news coverage has been on the team’s minicamps, where fans can see up close potential players and make their assessments. For the New Orleans Saints, a month into their event has already yielded results in signing an undrafted free agent and a veteran safety with four seasons across three teams. The Saints are continuing to scour the league because they know the draft doesn’t necessarily mean all the decent players have been picked up. There are still many free agents available to sign and train before the preseason, which New Orleans demonstrated yesterday by signing RB Cam Akers.

Akers began his NFL career when he was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft as the 52nd overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams. During his rookie season with the Rams under coach Sean McVay, he started in five of the 13 games he played as a running back. He would go on to have 145 rushing attempts, a gain of 625 rushing yards, and score two rushing touchdowns all contributing to the Ram's 10- 6 season. One of the highlights of his rookie year was being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week due to his performance in Week 14 in which he rushed for 171 yards on 29 attempts against the New England Patriots. His second season with the Rams would be limited to an injury in training camp but he would return in Week 18, their Playoff games, and in their Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Cam would remain for the 2022 and partial 2023 seasons until he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings and played six games until he was injured in their Week Nine game against the Atlanta Falcons. Before the start of the most recent season, he would be signed by the Houston Texans where he would start in two of the five games he played. That October he would be traded to the Vikings where would complete his season on both teams with 104 rushing attempts, a gain of 444 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns.   

This 26-year-old will be spending the summer training alongside the other RBs who are also in his age range. His teammates will be the current roster of running backs consisting of Alvin Kamara, who has been with the team since 2017, Kendre Miller, who has been with the team for two seasons, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has completed his rookie year. Akers won’t necessarily be the “new guy” on the team because he will join newcomers Xazavian Valladay, who played for the New York Jets, Marcus Yarns, who was signed at the end of April, and Devin Neal, who was signed at the beginning during the Draft. Being among these men puts him in good company and strengthens the Saints’ offense. It also puts the team on the path to having RBs who will help bring their team to the Playoffs and perhaps the Super Bowl.